Derek Jeter, the captain of the defending World Series champion Yankees, is regarded as the standard at his position. Based on his overall numbers and five rings, it is easy to see why.

Still, when discussing the best shortstops in the game, don’t discount Florida’s Hanley Ramirez. The 26-year-old is the defending N.L. batting champion, coming off a .342 season. He’s won two straight Silver Slugger Awards. Manager Fredi Gonzalez quipped to Ramirez, “I was telling him, hey, ‘We’ve got enough silver, we’ve got to get gold this year.” Ramirez hopes to reach Gold Glove status in the field. He committed 10 errors in 2009 after racking up 22 in ’08.

Across the board, Ramirez stands above the rest at his position. He has speed, power, hits for average and he is one of the best baserunners in the game.

If scoring runs and stealing bases are qualifications for being a great base runner, then Hanley (nicknamed H2R) stands alone.

According to Elias, since 2006, Hanley’s rookie season, the Marlins shortstop is the only player in baseball to rank in the top five in runs scored and stolen bases.

“I don’t think there is anything he can’t do on a baseball field,” Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez says of his two-time All-Star shortstop. “He’s got good instincts on the bases. The speed is still there. He goes from first-to-home. That’s when I like to see him run, when he goes first-to-third, or first-to-home on a double. That’s when you see his athleticism.”

The days of Ramirez stealing 50 bases may be over, because he is batting third now.

“You don’t want to beat up that body too much,” Gonzalez said. “But I think he’s a guy who can still run you 30. It’s when you steal them. I’ve seen guys with 50, stealing third with two outs, swiping a base that is really meaningless.”

Since his rookie season, Hanley’s numbers certainly hold up when next to Jeter.

Throughout the playoffs, we’ve seen late-inning heroics and thrilling comeback victories.

On Monday, both games were decided by comebacks. Jimmy Rollins provided some two-out, walk-off drama in the ninth inning to rally the Phillies past the Dodgers in Game 4. Rollins lined a two-run double off Jonathan Broxton to lift his team to a 5-4 win.

Earlier in the day, the Angels overcame a three-run deficit and beat the Yankees, also 5-4, in 11 innings when Jeff Mathis came through with a walk-off double.

The Yankees certainly have had their share of clutch hits in the playoffs. In the A.L. Division Series, Alex Rodriguez had a ninth inning homer off Joe Nathan to help rally his team. And A-Rod also went deep in the ninth inning off Brian Fuentes of the Angels to pull the Yankees even in the A.L. Championship Series.

Resiliency, obviously, is a characteristic of a championship-caliber team. That’s why it isn’t shocking that the four teams in their respective League Championshp Series also are the teams that paced the Major Leagues in comeback wins during the regular season.

What many people probably don’t know is the Marlins were fifth in the big leagues in rallying to wins.

The Marlins didn’t wind up in the playoffs, but they did win 87 games. In 41 of those victories, they trailed at some point.

The top five comeback teams in 2009 were:

* Yankees, 51* Angels, 47* Phillies, 43* Dodgers, 42* Marlins, 41

The Marlins 41 comeback victories is two behind their franchise record.

Florida’s top comeback seasons are:

* 43 in 2008* 43 in 1997* 42 in 2007* 41 in 2009* 41 in 2000.

The 1997 Marlins, of course, won the World Series, and the 2008 squad finished with 84 wins.

The Marlins and Phillies are playing a twinbill at Land Shark Stadium on Tuesday. The Game 1 lineups:

Phillies

1) Rollins, SS

2) Victorino, CF

3) Utley, 2B

4) Howard, 1B

5) Werth, RF

6) Ibanez, LF

7) Cairo, 3B

8) Bako, C

9) Blanton, P

Marlins

1) Coghlan, LF

2) Johnson, 1B

3) Hanley, SS

4) Cantu, 3B

5) Uggla, 2B

6) Baker, C

7) Ross, CF

8) Carroll, RF

9) Johnson, P

In Game 2, Ronny Paulino is expected to start at catcher with Wes Helms starting at third base, and Jorge Cantu at first base. Nick Johnson and John Baker are not expected to start in the second game. Cameron Maybin should be in center with Brett Carroll coming off the bench.

Lost in all the late-inning commotion of the Marlins’ 12-3 win over the Phillies on Sunday afternoon was a game-changing catch by Jeremy Hermida in the first inning.

The play was one of the biggest of the game.

Marlins right-hander Josh Johnson labored in the first inning. Jimmy Rollins led off with a single and Shane Victorino walked.

Chase Utley worked a nine-pitch at-bat off Johnson, and he was retired on a long fly ball that Cody Ross ran down in deep center field. Rollins tagged and moved to third.

With runners on the corners, Ryan Howard laced a long drive to right. Initially, it looked as if it would smack off the wall for extra bases. But Hermida raced back, jumped, and made a leaping catch. The ball snowconed in the top of his glove, but replays indicated that it was a catch.

Victorino, thinking the ball was trapped off the wall, rounded second. Rollins tagged and scored, but Hermida’s throw to Jorge Cantu at first base doubled-up Victorino, ending the inning. Victorino argued that the ball wasn’t caught, but the inning ended with the Phillies scoring one run, instead of at least three.

“I caught it, right against the wall,” Hermida said. “It was the top of my glove. I felt I caught it. It was kind of tough to see, but it never did hit the wall.”

Victorino’s frustrations boiled over in the seventh inning when he was ejected by home plate umpire Ed Rapuano for disputing balls and strikes. The twist to Victorino’s ejection was the fact he was standing in center field while Wes Helms was at the plate.

Hermida’s defensive gem was one of three double plays that helped Johnson improve his record to 11-2.

“That was one of those first innings again where you are trying to find outs any way you can,” Johnson said. “[Hermida] made a great catch. It was a great play. It did get me settled down to get into a groove.”

Hanley Ramirez left Tuesday’s game in the bottom of the third inning with a tight right groin, and his status is day-to-day.

After the game, Ramirez said he didn’t know if he would be ready for Wednesday’s series finale with the Phillies. Florida lost 5-3 on Tuesday.

The Marlins All-Star shortstop experienced some discomfort after extending to beat out an infield single in the top of the third inning against the Phillies. Ramirez raced out a grounder to shortstop Jimmy Rollins. On his last step he reached his leg out, causing some aggravation.

He said he felt he hit the bag too hard, and the tightness increased while he was in the field.

The Marlins are off on Thursday, so if Ramirez sat out Wednesday, he essentially could have two days of rest.

On a 52-degree night at Citizens Bank Park, Ramirez was unable to continue.

Third baseman Emilio Bonifacio replaced Ramirez at shortstop and Wes Helms entered to play third base.

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